You know how it is around the beginning of January. All that talk, what are your resolutions, what are your intentions, what are you doing to change? Blah blah blah. With all that talk floating around some of it was bound to seep into my permanently busy brain. And so on a whim, why yes, I too decided to take up a challenge! Why not? Yet at the same time I was aware that it would not be smart to commit to doing something for a whole year or the rest of my life.

As I puttered around my studio I came across a very very very large stack of sketchbooks, ideas, doodles and scribblings from over time. Wow. So many ideas. Sitting in notebooks.

All those ideas that I hadn’t had time to bring to life. So on a whim I promised to make a new piece of jewelry every day for 30 days. It seemed like a good idea. And to hold myself accountable I told you that I would publish a picture everyday of what I had created.

Well…. that was interesting.

At the end of the day I am really happy that I did this. Some days were a serious struggle and some days were easy. I found that as the days wore on my brain really got into gear and ideas started coming faster and faster and it became easier. I started off with my original sketchbooks and moved on from there. By the end of it I now have even more unfinished sketches! Plenty of ideas didn’t work out. I had one day where a necklace that I was super excited about just wouldn’t work. I twisted, I hammered, I bent, I pounded and yet after 4 hours I acknowledged that was was brilliant in my mind was butt ugly in reality. Which also left me at 10 pm. with no piece of jewelry for the day. It was an exercise in letting go and having a back up plan.

The other great outcome from this was all the amazing feedback I received from you!!!! Truly wonderful! I sit in my studio all by myself and so when I make something new I have to wear it out to the bank or the grocery store just to get feedback. Thanks to you I have a good idea of what to bring into the permanent collection and what to let go of.

The timing was also perfect. January there isn’t much going on, so I had some creative play time. Usually I leave everything until the last minute. Now I’m ready for the Spring One of a Kind show early! And with lots of new work! So cool!

I’ll definitely do this again, after all I have so many new ideas brewing!

By popular choice the favourites are the waters edge bracelet, the spring cluster necklace, the dragonfly necklace and the tree necklace. Seems like the spring theme was a winner.